Since 1990, in the south of Moldova, Gagauzia officially declared its independence. This is an autonomous territorial entity, which began to form in the early 19th century. Along with Russian and Moldavian, the Gagauz language is actively used there in communication and writing. We will get acquainted with its features, history and dialects.
Language group
Gagauz language belongs to the Turkic language group. According to its grammatical properties, it is similar to the Azerbaijani and Turkmen dialects. But most of all intersections by linguists are found with the Turkish language. Typically, the Gagauz language belongs to the Oguz subgroup, but there is great influence from other systems. In particular, from the Russian, Bulgarian and Balkan-Romanesque.
According to linguistic studies, native speakers are usually the Gagauz people, or people with Gagauz roots or living in the neighborhood.
History
In order to understand the origin of the language, you need to get acquainted with the history of its carrier. As for the distant past of the Gagauz, it is rather vague. Historians have three hypotheses about the origin of this nation. The first assumes that they came from the assimilation of the Oghuz, Pechenegs and Cumans. According to the second hypothesis, the ancestors of the Gagauz are the Seljuk Turks, who in the 18th century mixed with the Polovtsy and formed the Oguz state. And, finally, according to another version, the Gagauz are the descendants of the Turkic-speaking Proto-Bulgarians, who in the 7th century moved from the banks of the Volga to the Balkans, and in the 9th century adopted Christianity.
All these three hypotheses do not have clear linguistic justifications. Indirect evidence can only be ethnographic and folklore sources. So, for example, fairy tales and riddles in the Gagauz language in their plot and composition have something in common with ancient works that have come down to us from the Turkic peoples listed above.
Geographic distribution
The number of people speaking the Gagauz language is more than 150 thousand people. It is mainly distributed in Moldova (ATU Gagauzia) and Odessa region (Ukraine). In addition, the system is found in minor areas in some areas of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
In 2004, a census was conducted in Moldova. According to its results, it turned out that the Gagauzians made up only four and a half percent of the total composition. This is about 120 thousand people. Of these, about hundreds of thousands lived specifically in Gagauzia, the rest settled in other regions of Moldova.
Four times less, according to the census in 2001, the Gagauz people live in the Odessa region. This is just one percent of the population. Of course, the preservation of the Gagauz language is much lower. In addition, the Gagauz people themselves often use the Russian or Ukrainian languages ​​for comfortable coexistence with representatives of other nationalities.
Dialects
In every language there is such a thing as a dialect (or dialect). This is a kind of language as a means of communication between people, due to the territory of their residence. The Gagauz language has two dialects: Chadyrlung-Comrat (or central) and Vulcanest (or southern). The first territorially unites two regions of Gagauzia: Chadyr-Lungsky and Komratsky. In this dialect, the influence of the Moldavian and Russian languages ​​is felt. As for the southern dialect, it is defined by linguists as being close to the original Gagauz language.
It is also known that the Gagauz people live on the Balkan Peninsula along with their related gadjals. The mutual influence of peoples has given a much larger and more diverse number of dialects that are currently being studied by linguists. Among them are Bulgarian, Macedonian, Turkish and other dialects.
Turkish influence
The influence of the Turkish language deserves special attention. After all, linguists find a lot of similarities in the pronunciation and lexical composition of both languages. Intensive “contacting” of the Gagauz language with Turkish literary speech took place in the 90s of the last century through the media and the strengthening of the economic and tourist ties of Gagauzia with Turkey.
It should be noted that turcisms, however, like Rusisms, penetrate Gagauz (official) speech today.
Writing
Until the 19th century, the Gagauz did not have a native written language. Only in 1957 was the Gagauz alphabet created on the basis of the Cyrillic alphabet. However, in 1993 in Moldova it was decided to translate the Gagauz script into Latin. At the same time, the alphabet was modernized according to the Turkish model: additional letters A, E, T were added with a characteristic designation for pronunciation. However, despite such a reform, the Gagauz Cyrillic alphabet was still used in the 2012 book publication.
The controversial situation remains to this day. So, for example, the Gagauz newspaper "Hakikatyn Sesi" today is printed both in Latin and Cyrillic. It contains not only news columns, but also stories, essays, poems in the Gagauz language. All this is done to preserve the language and transmit it to posterity.
Phonetics
The influence of neighboring languages ​​on Gagauzian is especially clearly felt in its phonetic composition. So, the Balkan features were manifested in the appearance of a characteristic sound [a] with the sound “e”. But, unlike the Moldavian and Bulgarian languages, Gagauz consistently preserved syngarmonism (this includes the so-called ruggedness and openness of sound).
In the Gagauz language, double vowels prevail at the end of infinitive verbs (for example, almaa - take). These combinations were the result of the assimilation of the final sound “k” (compare with tour .: almak - take).
In the case of consonants, a foreign language influence is also observed. In the Gagauz language, combinations like “bl”, “br”, “cr”, “tr”, “sl” appeared, the phrase intonation changed, and acquired similarities with neighboring languages.
Vocabulary
The proximity of the Gagauzian and Turkish languages ​​is determined not only by the territorial neighborhood of their native speakers in the past, but also by other historical reasons. The organizer of the Turkish language reform was Mustafa Atatürk. He sought to cleanse the system of Arabisms and Persisms. To do this, I had to turn to the Gagauz language, since it, in comparison with Ottoman Turkish, was the most free from borrowings. Thus, the Gagauz dialect has become an ideal basis, a core for the modern Turkish language.
However, one should not overestimate the system that the Gagauzian language represented then. Words, for example, of scientific, official-business styles came to him from Latin, Romanian, Turkish. Currently, as already mentioned, the most powerful influence is exerted by Slavic systems.
Gagauzians are Orthodox people. And, of course, the spiritual sphere is also translated into the Gagauz language. The religious dictionary has many intersections with Greek and Arabic.
The household vocabulary of the Gagauz is enriched simultaneously with the help of internal and external resources. Most of the carriers are represented by Russian-Gagauz bilinguals who also speak other languages ​​(Moldavian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Romanian).
Interesting Facts
- In 2010, UNESCO launched the Atlas of the Endangered Languages ​​of the World. According to the author’s forecast, by the end of the century, half of those used today will disappear on the planet. The Gagauz language also fell into this "black" list. This is due not only to the interpenetration of language systems, but also to a small number of carriers. Moreover, it is important to consider age-related features. If the representatives of the older generation and their children still remember and understand their native language, then the grandchildren no longer exist.
- In order to preserve the native language, the Gagauzians resumed publishing, released the Russian-Gagauz dictionary in print and electronic form. A similar program has affected the educational sphere. The compulsory exams in high school now include an essay in the Gagauz language.
- In addition, in 2012 the “Union of the Gagauzians” was organized. Its goal is to unite representatives of the people and provide them with the necessary safety in all aspects of life. This also applies to cultural and linguistic issues. As part of the popularization events, gatherings of writers and poets writing in the Gagauz language, music concerts, and video clips are held.
- Despite all the efforts of the speakers to preserve the native Gagauz language, there is no translator in the popular Google system. And no changes are foreseen in this matter.
- Gagauz three times participated in the "TĂĽrkvision" (analogue of "Eurovision"). The highest position held by the country is 10th place. In 2015, Valentin Ormangi took it, performing the song "Love Me, Love" in Turkish. A year earlier, Maria Topal performed. The song in the Gagauz language "Cried" brought her only 16th place.
- The Balkan-Gagauz language is today considered native for gadjals living on the Balkan Peninsula. They are also called Gagauz, but in reality they are different nations, although they belong to the Turkic branch. However, gadjals profess Sunni Islam. Their language has eight dialects that are still poorly understood. And the number of carriers at the beginning of the last century hardly exceeded 15 thousand people.